Forget your ego: Don’t promote yourself, promote your content

Unless you’re Kim Kardashian, no one wants to hear about the mundanities of your life. Promote your great YouTube video, not the argument you had with the cameraman. Talk up what’s great about what you created, not about how great you are for creating it. Got it? Good, now step on your ego again and remember it’s about the content, not you![dt_sc_hr_invisible_small]

[dt_sc_blockquote type=”type4″ align=”left”]No, don’t get ready for the big yawn of “be sure to RT other and use hashtags” type of ‘advice.’ We’re going to look at 10 powerful next level audience growth hacks that will naturally increase your follower numbers, likes, shares, retweets, subscribers, and whatever other social signal you want to increase.[/dt_sc_blockquote]

When you can be an egomaniac: Put your links everywhere

Put social sharing buttons on your blog posts, your website, your blogs, on product pages and everywhere else. Web users are not only use to seeing these now, but they expect them to be there to make it easier for them to share your content.

This is also related to your @usernames, YouTube channels names, and other important social profile names. This will help breed familiarity with your usernames, making it so people don’t have to guess what your Twitter handle, YouTube channel name, or any other social profile is called.

Be everyone’s favorite account with platform exclusive contests

Remember the old days when you’d put coupons in magazines and newspapers and all it would do is get you a few more customers and give people more incentive to buy the newspaper or magazine? Well social media gives you the chance to capture those new followers in your own social profiles. Rather than the magazine or newspaper getting more buys, you get more fans!

Take the time to mention that the content or promotion you’re running is exclusive to the platform, and people will gladly share it. This value added marketing tactic is a tested concept that has helped many businesses grow through their promotions. Here’s an easy to understand example:

Social Proof: Why should anyone believe you?

Social proof is a concept that espouses numbers and little else. When people first come across your social profile they’re going to see how many followers, subscribers and likes you have. If your numbers are low they’re not going to believe that you’re a trustworthy voice in your industry. This is why Twitter follower and retweet services get business – they boost your social proof right away while you continue to do the hard work.

Build up walls that your users breakdown

Flock to Unlock is a popular new method that smart social profiles are using to get their fans to do certain things. But this doesn’t have to be limited to just Twitter. You can tell your fans that they’ll get to watch a certain video once you get to a certain number of subscribers. You can challenge your fans to share a photo a certain number of times on Instagram to unlock a new product image that they’re excited about.

In summary: Build up a wall, and challenge your fans to knock it down with shares, likes, subscriptions, and on and on.

This just in: Do #newsjacks correctly

A newsjack is when you find a news story and jump in with your 2 cents. Doing a newsjack that will actually increase your following happens when you come across a new story that actually has some sort of relevance to you or your industry. Even better, join in on a newsjack when you’re commenting on a story that is within your established area of expertise – you may go viral if you have something truly relevant to say.

@samueljscott summarizes it best in this tweet:

If something bad happens and your first thought is “How can we newsjack this?”, you’re doing it wrong.

Don’t be content with a @mention, ask for feedback

If you already have found a user who is talking about your product, ask them for feedback if they’re not already giving you some. “I bought a new widget yesterday” is a common throw away comment on any social media platform. Ask them what they thought about your widget to build your social content and online reviews.

A tool like Hootsuite can help you find mentions of your products that don’t directly reference your quotes. Read up on setting up searches that uncover your products and you’ll find all new ways to interact with people who are talking about your products.

In good times, and in bad: Respond to praise and criticism immediately

It’s easy to respond to praise right away – “Thanks for the kind words @niceguy!” Done. But responding to criticism right away is how your potential fans will truly judge you. Give people a response right away and they’ll see that you’re serious about your social media account – not just waiting around for random people to stroke your ego.

Have I made it clear yet that your social media accounts aren’t about your ego?

Spread the love: Mention other users on the platform

Everyone loves a shoutout:

Give people a shoutout in your YouTube videos

Use a @mention on Twitter

Share to the Facebook walls of those you’re mentioning

Join in on Instagram hashtags of those you’re talking about

Not only will this increase your chances of having them mention you back, but it is also an easy way to get your content into the eyes of their followers.

Crossovers

Promoting your latest video through your Twitter account, talking about your newest blog post on Facebook, and snapping a picture of your latest promotion for Instagram are all easy steps you can take to start building a connection between all of your accounts.

Before you start doing this, be sure that your social profiles all have a similar feel and look to them. Use common branding – logos and colors – for all of your profiles so that people know immediately that you’re sending them to another page of yours.